One More Day!

I hope everyone has had an aWESome summer, but I'm so glad to say, that in about 13 hours, it'll be over. I remember as an elementary student not being able to sleep the night before school. I couldn't wait to see my school friends, hear their wonderful stories, meet my teachers, and learn something new.

As a Whitesville Elementary staff, we have had a wonderful week planning for tomorrow and the rest of this school year. We have been in trainings, meetings, professional development opportunities, and more to gain some last-minute tools to successfully teach, grow, and ultimately support your children so they are prepared for their next adventure!

Our Meet the Teacher Night was amazing. I could see the excitement of our students as they entered the building, our families as they navigated the building, and our staff as they met you all. I can't wait until everyone arrives and the school is buzzing with the excitment of teaching and learning.

Have a great night, and we'll see you in the morning!

Our mission is to cultivate a caring community that utilizes a multitude of teaching and learning experiences to prepare children for their next adventure.

1. We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe, valued, and appreciated.
2. We believe that all children deserve a high quality education.
3. We believe in collaboration and making connections.

August 21 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

August 24 - Thursday Folders Sent Home

August 28-September 8 - iReady Testing for Grades Kindergarten - 5th

September 7 - Thursday Folders Sent Home

September 14 - PTO Meeting

We have two different drop off/pick up lines for car riders.

• Our CERDEP, Kindergarteners, and their siblings will be on the side of the school beside the basketball goals and the Kindergarten Hall.
• Our 1st Graders through 5th Graders will drop off and pick up in the front of our school, near the main office.

We will have faculty and staff at both drop off locations to welcome students and to direct our students. Be sure your child is on the passenger side of the car to allow for them to safely exit their vehicle without having to cross traffic.

As a reminder... for the safety of our students and families, and to ensure that traffic moves smoothly, please turn right when exiting our campus.

We will be welcoming families to walk with their children (and take pictures 😁) on the first two days of school. Parents may only enter the building through the front doors of the buidling.

Our teachers will be at the doors to welcome your children and we will have faculty and staff directing in the hallsmonitors throughout the building to help direct students to their classroom.

• Entering the Building: All parent who wish to enter the school must do so through the front door of WES. Parking may be difficult for those who would like to walk their students to class.

• Hug & Wave: We ask that parents walking their children to class not attempt to conference with teachers, instead, please feel free to take a photo, give your child a big hug, and tell them to have a great day! Parents are asked to stay outside of the classroom as students enter.

New this school year is the student transportation tag program, which BCSD is utilizing for the release of bus riders in elementary school. Please see the form HERE.

All Pre-K through fifth grade students who ride the bus need to have a bus tag this year. This tag will attach to the child’s backpack. The tags come in three different colors and will alert the bus driver to following information regarding a child as he/she gets off the bus:

● Red Tag / “STOP”: The student is in pre-K through second grade and cannot be released unless a parent or guardian is present at the bus stop. If a parent or guardian is not present for students with red tags, students will return to the school.

● Yellow Tag / “CAUTION”: The student is in pre-kindergarten through second grade and can be released with a sibling who is in third grade or above. If that sibling is not present, the child gets taken back to school. In order to still be released at the bus stop, the child’s parent needs to be present.

● Green Tag / “GO”: Every student with a green tag is cleared to be released off the bus.

Learn more about the Tag Program.

Berkeley County School District provides timely and accurate bus route and delay information via My Ride K-12. With My Ride K-12, parents have the option of reviewing bus information via a secure web portal and/or Apple and Android mobile apps. The Apple and Google buttons below will take you directly to the app in the respective stores.

Information found in the My Ride K-12 portal includes but is not limited to:

• bus stop location

• route information

• pickup time

• bus number

Research shows that participating in your child's school and showing engagement helps them perform better academically.

2. The School Benefits

PTO performs support for school teachers and administrators which in turn creates a positive and caring atmosphere in the school.

3. Make Connections

Get to know the teachers and staff better and make life-long friends with other parents at the school!

4. It's Good For You

Socializing with other parents and volunteering to do good for your child's school is fun, healthy, and rewarding!

READY TO SIGN UP?

Contact our PTO President, Maria Knab at president@wiseowlspto.com.

If you missed on getting your spirit gear on our Meet the Teacher Night we are extending our PTO promo. Join the PTO and get a discount on adult size shirts. We will send the shirts home with your student during the second week of class.

Every completed Whitesville Wise Owls PTO membership will be entered for a chance to win our Bee City Zoo Family Fun Pack Raffle!!! Which will include 4 admission tickets, a stuffed owl, a YETI kids water bottle and a $50 Chick-Fill-A gift card!!!

Winner will be announce in our first PTO meeting on September 14 at 6 PM.

Let’s have a aWESome school year!!!

http://my.cheddarup.com/.../skip-the-line-membership...

• Jillian Mahaffey
• Matt Schurlknight
• Nikki Schurlknight
• Tiffany Yacobozzi
• David Miles-Hood
• Stephanie MacInnes
• Janessa MacWilliams
• Maria Knab
• Kristen Sheard
• Beatriz Gantt
• Lola Gantt

Download the New BCSD App

NEVER MISS AN EVENT

The event section shows a list of events throughout the district. Users can add an event to their calendar to share the event with friends and family with one tap.

CUSTOMIZE NOTIFICATIONS

Select your student's organization within the app and make sure you never miss a message.

CAFETERIA MENUS

Within the dining section, you'll find an easy to navigate, weekly menu, sorted by day and meal type.

DISTRICT & SCHOOL UPDATES

In the Live and News Feeds are where you'll find updates from the administration about what's going on in the district and in schools right now. Whether that's celebrating a student's success, or reminding you about an upcoming deadline.

CONTACT STAFF & DEPARTMENTS

Find relevant staff and department contacts under an easy-to-navigate directory.

Immunizations

Each year the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) provides the South Carolina Immunization Requirements for Childcare and School.

Immunization requirements are regularly updated by DHEC. The following changes have been made for the 2023-2024 school year for students in third grade, eighth grade, ninth grade and 11th grade – this information is also available on DHEC’s Childcare & School Vaccine Requirements website.

• Eighth grade: one dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine on or after the 10th birthday.
• Ninth grade: two doses of varicella. A child with a positive history of the disease is considered immune and is exempt from this requirement.
• 11th grade: three doses of oral and/or inactivated polio vaccine with at least one dose received on or after the fourth birthday.
• Third grade: two doses of hepatitis A vaccine with both doses received on or after the first birthday and separated by at least 6 months.

View full state immunization requirements for childcare 2023-2024 here.

Medications

BCSD would also like to remind its families of the protocol for giving prescription and non-prescription medicines at school:

• In order for a child to be given non-prescription medicines at school, the child’s parent/guardian must sign a permission form. Schools may have special rules for non-prescription medicines and may require parents or guardian to sign additional forms.
• In order for a child to be given a prescription medicine at school, the child’s health care practitioner and the child’s parent or guardian should sign a separate permission form. Because the instructions for some medications require more space than is provided on the form, some health care practitioners may prefer to use a practice specific form.

In both cases, schools may have special rules for prescription medicines and may require parents or guardians to sign additional forms. A responsible adult should deliver the medicine and the permission form to the school. The medicine must be in the original container with the label on it.

New Student Registration

For parents of new students in the district, families were required to fill out a health history questionnaire for nursing services; this form should have been included in the child’s New Student Registration packet. If this information has not been filled out, please do so and provide to your school nurse.

For information, please visit BCSD’s Nursing Services page.